THE SURREY SLAM SURVEY
The 2025 Slam season has concluded, so its a good time to get your feedback on the last year.
We want to know how we're doing in providing 'More Cricket For More People' this year, but we are also keenly aware that The Slam has to continue evolving to achieve this, hence some key proposals for 2026 that will realise material change in how The Slam operates in Surrey if they come to fruition.
So, here is your opportunity to provide us with your ideas to improve things. Suggestions from more than 3 or more teams will automatically go to a democratic vote to see if it will be implemented ahead of next season.
We want to know how we're doing in providing 'More Cricket For More People' this year, but we are also keenly aware that The Slam has to continue evolving to achieve this, hence some key proposals for 2026 that will realise material change in how The Slam operates in Surrey if they come to fruition.
So, here is your opportunity to provide us with your ideas to improve things. Suggestions from more than 3 or more teams will automatically go to a democratic vote to see if it will be implemented ahead of next season.
1. THREE TIERS FOR MEN'S?
We are very conscious that the Men's Shield covers too broad a part of the cricketing spectrum, and as such it is becoming less attractive to teams of a lower playing standard, which completely contradicts what The Slam is designed to achieve. To combat this, we believe that now is the time to launch a third tier of competition to provide a fitting environment for such teams. There is also the need to alter where the other leagues sit within the structure, so some tweaking has been suggested there too.
After two years of running 3 tiers in Sussex, the Trophy (3rd tier) is now the most popular version of the competition! Focusing far more on participation, bowlers are limited a maximum of 3 overs each, and batters retire not out at 30, all meaning that there is far more opportunity for every player who gets involved - exactly what The Slam is all about!
Here is the proposed eligibility levels for the new structure:
After two years of running 3 tiers in Sussex, the Trophy (3rd tier) is now the most popular version of the competition! Focusing far more on participation, bowlers are limited a maximum of 3 overs each, and batters retire not out at 30, all meaning that there is far more opportunity for every player who gets involved - exactly what The Slam is all about!
Here is the proposed eligibility levels for the new structure:
In the survey below, please can you give an indication of which competition(s) your Club would be likely to enter should these changes be implemented. This does NOT constitute any commitment at this point, it is purely for providing us with an indication of take-up.
2. RESTRUCTURE OF THE WOMEN'S?
We are conscious that at present the shorter format offerings in Surrey have a degree of overlap and the Shield, whilst still very valid, isn't positioned to provide a true entry step into the hard ball game.
With that in mind, and after discussion with Surrey Cricket Foundation, the intention for 2026 is to:
1. Cease the Elite T20, but The Slam Cup would be opened up to allow higher level players to be involved, albeit with restrictions;
2. The boundaries of the Shield would be altered to make it a competition more befitting the middle area of the recreational game.
3. A new tier (The Trophy) would be introduced, which would be 8-a-side, pairs, run along exactly the same lines as soft ball matches. We have run this in Sussex this year with groups of 4 and each team hosting one Sunday and each team playing 6 games across those 4 dates. Obviously we will ensure that these dates dovetail with any Div 3 fixtures.
Here is the proposed eligibility levels for the new structure
With that in mind, and after discussion with Surrey Cricket Foundation, the intention for 2026 is to:
1. Cease the Elite T20, but The Slam Cup would be opened up to allow higher level players to be involved, albeit with restrictions;
2. The boundaries of the Shield would be altered to make it a competition more befitting the middle area of the recreational game.
3. A new tier (The Trophy) would be introduced, which would be 8-a-side, pairs, run along exactly the same lines as soft ball matches. We have run this in Sussex this year with groups of 4 and each team hosting one Sunday and each team playing 6 games across those 4 dates. Obviously we will ensure that these dates dovetail with any Div 3 fixtures.
Here is the proposed eligibility levels for the new structure
In the survey below, please can you give an indication of which competition(s) your Club would be likely to enter should these changes be implemented. This does NOT constitute any commitment at this point, it is purely for providing us with an indication of take-up.
BATTING RETIREMENT
Given the primary objective of The Slam is to provide more cricket for more people, i.e. increase meaningful participation, it is recommended that all Slam competitions switch to batters retiring after a certain number of balls faced and NOT number of runs scored in order to achieve this more successfully.
As you are aware, it is mandatory for all matches to be scored on the PlayCricket Scorer App, and this can be set to notify when a batter reaches a certain number of balls faced. Note that retirement would be set against LEGAL balls faced (excluding wides AND no balls), which the app can accommodate.
This question has been posed in the survey every year and the support for this change has been continually increasing. Given that the standard technology deployed at each game would make this simple to instigate, we are reach a perfect time to make a material change to how we manage participation.
By comparison, note that it is fully accepted that a bowler's influence is limited to a certain percentage of the total balls in an innings.
As you are aware, it is mandatory for all matches to be scored on the PlayCricket Scorer App, and this can be set to notify when a batter reaches a certain number of balls faced. Note that retirement would be set against LEGAL balls faced (excluding wides AND no balls), which the app can accommodate.
This question has been posed in the survey every year and the support for this change has been continually increasing. Given that the standard technology deployed at each game would make this simple to instigate, we are reach a perfect time to make a material change to how we manage participation.
By comparison, note that it is fully accepted that a bowler's influence is limited to a certain percentage of the total balls in an innings.
Voting on the elements concerned with the above are included in the wider survey below.
PLEASE COMPLETE ONE FORM PER TEAM (NOT ONE PER CLUB)
